William Herschel discovered NGC 3894 = H I-248 = h983 on 18 Mar 1790 (sweep 951), along with NGC 3895, and logged "cB, pL, iF." John Herschel made two observations and noted "B; pL; R; pgmbM; the preceding of 2." His position is accurate.

400/500mm - 17.5" (4/6/91): bright, fairly small, oval 2:1 WSW-ENE, brighter along the major axis, small bright core.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb